Hi:
More experienced bakers than I are likely to chime in on this . . .
But I could swear that I've read (and heard in baking shows) that salt
can possibly damage the lives of our friendly living yeast. So best to
get our friends fully awake and wheezing at top performance before
adding salt.
Nathan

Parker wrote:
> I've use Joe Ortiz' book "The Village Baker" for about 10 years. On
> some of his recipes, he specifies that salt should be added as the
> final ingredient during kneading.
>
> I find this awkward, and I've never noticed a difference between
> adding the salt at the end or during the mixing of the dough. Plus, I
> wonder if the salt gets mixed properly throughout the dough.
>
> Does anyone know what is accomplished by adding the salt last? Has
> anyone tested both methods and been able to detect a difference?
>
> Thanks.